John Travlos was our first Guest Speaker of the new calendar year, and his topic was Zimbabwe’s Position in Africa. The former Southern Rhodesia gained independence in 1980, and Robert Mugabe became the first Prime Minister and head of government. Land re-distribution became a central issue because the minority white population held most of the fertile agricultural land, and in 2000 Mugabe implemented the Fast Track Land Reform program which resulted in the farms being confiscated and handed over to the black population. This led to a collapse of the economy, and years of turmoil followed. However, Zimbabwe is now a first world country which aspires to be the ‘Switzerland of Africa’, and the objective is to have the entire population living in the upper middle class by 2035. The population is estimated to be around 16 million people in recent times, but white Zimbabweans make up only about 1% of that total. However, since Emmerson Mnangagwa replaced Mugabe as President there has been a steady flow of white Zimbabweans returning to the country. The blacks have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and there are numerous universities and schools there now. John gave examples of achievements by prominent Zimbabweans, and the parliamentary capital of the country is now Mount Hampden. Zimbabwe is the 3rd largest producer of platinum these days.